project: invitations !

it is really hard for me to write anything about our invitations. getting them out was such a huge, time consuming process. by far the biggest wedding project i have tackled. i am not a designer. let me repeat, i am NOT a designer! i really have no idea where to begin when it comes to putting together different elements and making them all work as a package, but i think that i somehow managed to pull it off here. luckily, i had the help of a friend who IS a designer. let's just allow the pictures to do most of the talking, shall we?

this is what you may have found in your mailbox in June if you were invited to our wedding:


a variety of vintage stamps and lovingly hand traced "calligraphy." it would mean you are an out-of-towner, since we sent our invites in waves and managed to get all of the first batch out in early june.

this is what you may have found in your mailbox in july if you were invited to our wedding:


ah, can we spot the differences? computer printed addresses. and we ran out of high value vintage stamps, so we probably just slapped a couple of forever stamps on your invite and called it a day. this also means you live in los angeles, because we mailed our local invites a month after our first wave. sorry guys, i was just a little tired of making them at this point. in retrospect, we should have made all the invitations together, so i wasn't so burnt out by the end. oh well, we live and learn right?

our return address on the back:


this is what all of our guests found when they opened the outer envelopes. the liner paper was a really expensive indulgence. it is hand screened and thick and amazing! i cut corners by not making our envelope liners full size (more on this in pt. 2)!


our inner envelopes were all tied up with twine and wax. i used a hot glue wax on some invites, and a real sealing wax on others. (the hot glue wax is pictured here.)


frankly, i have no idea if I followed "the rules" on putting these together. i read somewhere to tuck the reply card in the reply envelope and place that on top. put any extra cards/maps etc. under that, and then the invite under all of the above. i think i did this? Hopefully i didn't offend anyone!

front and back of sealed inner envelope:


once you managed to tear/bite/cut off the twine, and rip open the hard to tear envelope, this would be on top. our reply card and envelope. i used a mustard colored envelope and that same wood grain paper for liners.


we used a mix of forever stamps and the cute king and queen stamps on these cards.

under the reply card is our information card. we made it seem almost like a valet parking card, because we need to emphasize that all guests must use the valet service or their cars will be towed. our venue is in a residential neighborhood with no guest parking at all. i am so worried about people skipping the valet and trying to park their own cars and then being towed.iI am hoping everyone will read this card and remember to use the free valet!



the actual invitation card:



on the back we printed lyrics from our favorite song. there is also a tiny spider dangling off of the banner (although spiders terrify me, they are also good luck!).

all together now:




behind the scenes of an invitation photo shoot (secret cat helpers):



stay tuned for project: invitations (pt. 2): cost breakdown, tips and tricks and maybe another cat or two!

sneak peak: invitations !

sorry guys, i have been so busy lately getting my archived posts up on weddingbee, working out, eating cake, and ignoring the fast approaching wedding! expect regular posting (and panicking) from here on out.

before I showcase our invitations, here is a little sneaky peaky. all photos are by Hazelnut Photography.





more words, details and photos soon!

project: evolution of (wedding) hair (pt.2) !

much to my mother's disappointment, i will not be wearing a full length veil. i tried several on and none of them worked for me. i think if my hair was darker i may be more open to the idea, but the super blond hair + pale skin + long white veil just didn't mesh.

i have spent many, many hours looking over etsy for inspiration. for a while i thought i might try my hand at making a veil myself, but after a disastrous DIY ring bearer book project i decided to keep my crafting jobs at paper goods and kids crafts.

i talked to my hair stylist and then bought a few pieces off of etsy. it was way too hard for me to just choose one and go for it. i tried to buy items that i would wear on non-wedding days as well, so if they don't work out i can still enjoy them. or give them away to a fellow bride! i like to share.

bought from: Bungalow

i bought this cute veil first, but it was pointed out to me how a headband might hurt after a few hours. this is still in the running though! its adorable and exactly the size i was looking for!

bought from: Cultivar

i also couldn't resist these clips in our wedding colors. i LOVE the grey flower. i would wear these every day, so if they don't make it into the wedding hair they will still be put to good use, and they were very affordable.

the owner of sirens is also creating a few pieces for me to choose from using vintage materials! i can't wait to see what she comes up with. she also makes gorgeous little tophats that are so amazing! if i was a little less hippie i would totally try to pull off that look.

this chapter is closed. i will have worry free wedding hair and i can move on to my next issue: rsvp cards were due yesterday and we are still missing 26 replies!

shower, so soon.

a few weeks ago this cute little card arrived in my mailbox:

an invite to my first bridal shower, hosted by my maid of honor gina and my boss/neighbor/friend-hybrid annette. now, when i write "my first bridal shower," i do mean first. i have never been to one before. most of my friends aren't married, and those that are were married long before i met them. this will be a new experience.

the shower is coming up this saturday. i am extremely, extremeeelllyyy nervous. i hate being the center of attention. i am the adult who usually goes off and plays with the children at parties and other social events. i have been anxious about this for weeks. it looks like there will be 25-35 guests, and that number scares me beyond words. luckily, the guests are all people i see almost every day (moms from preschool, coworkers, close friends) and my own mother and aunt are flying in for the celebration. thinking about seeing my mom, aunt, and maid of honor (who all live in the bay area) is what gets me excited!

hopefully i won't have to do any embarrassing games. i can guarantee you i won't be posting any photos here, as my face will be permanently red throughout the party. i will probably be very sweaty, and won't be able to stop laughing. i laugh constantly when nervous!

the party is a good excuse to package up some cute gifts for my wonderful hostesses, as seen here!


did you notice the yellow stain from gocco ink and the giant roll of brown baker twine? half of our invites are officially out (mailed to out of town guests) and round two goes out in a week or so as soon as the rest of our paper arrives. and um, my "thank you" is upside down. but it is printed on both sides of the tag, so that makes it ok, right?

things

random bits:

-our invitations are almost finished. i wasted two 25 sheet packages of paper before i realized it wasn't me that was messing it up, the paper just wasn't receiving the ink properly. one last trip to papersource in pasadena tonight, ugh. they do look wonderful so far!

-when we got engaged my mom offered us funds for a wedding or for a house down payment. obviously we chose the wedding. sometimes i wish i went with the house. reasons we didn't: we aren't sure we want to put down "roots" in LA just yet. we don't know if we could afford a mortgage, taxes, repairs etc right now. houses are a big commitment! if we took the money and didn't buy a house right away i would have just been lusting over weddings. although every time i look at the carpet in our rental house i question my decision just a tiny bit... i pine for hardwood floors.

-i will look back at this week and remember it as the cupcake war of '09.

-i love this wedding! moss in apothecary jars! tiny clothespins holding photos on string! jars hanging from fences and trees! amazing.

yay, friday!

project: invitations {stamps !!!}

(hanging on the weddingboard)
(you can even see early save the date designs that didn't make it!)

packages have been arriving to our home daily. multiple times daily. usps, ups and fedex delivery people all know our names and wedding date. it is hilarious!

the stamps i ordered from ebay are trickling in sheet by sheet. after spending so much time just thinking about (haven't even started assembling!) the invitations, i just couldn't ugly them up with forever stamps. i wanted stamps that would look nice and help the design of the outer envelope, not detract from it.

i searched for stamps that were relevant to us, and found some winners. arizona stamps with a cute cactus?! perfect! owls and eyeglasses and feathers and trees? amazing! the only problem i have is that i perhaps underestimated how many stamps i would need for each envelope. a .04 stamp only goes so far in mailing a thick, heavy invitation. it's back to ebay for round two.